Iraqi citizens risked their lives to vote in the parliamentary elections held last week as violence erupted across the country. More than 62.5 percent of eligible voters cast their vote, according to Al Jazeera English. Proud voters triumphantly raised ink-stained forefingers for the cameras — a patriotic badge of honor.We can learn from observation of the Iraqi elections.Midterm elections in the United States only garnered 41.3 percent of eligible voters in 2006, according to a study by Dr. Michael McDonald of the Department of Public and International Affairs at George Mason University. And if history holds true, we will witness another dismal voter turnout Nov. 2, 2010 as Senate seats come up for election. American voters battle evening traffic and the infamous couch potato syndrome to make it to the voting station, but Iraqi voters had to dodge mortar shells, stray bullets and hand grenades.As Iraqis were going out to vote March 7 to elect members of Iraq’s Council of Representatives, 38 people were killed and 89 more wounded as explosions and shootings erupted in Baghdad, Salahuddin province, Ramadi in Anbar province and Baquba in the northern Diyala province.And yet 11.7 million Iraqi citizens made their way to the polls. This is an important democratic milestone for Iraq in the face of the violence, delayed results and the allegations of possible fraud. It exhibits a strong desire by the people to exercise their long-suppressed “unalienable rights — life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” and “that to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”Yes, I know that is from the Declaration of Independence. But the internal desire to exercise these rights is burning brightly now in Iraq — more so perhaps than it is in many American hearts.We could learn something about the spirit of democracy from the Iraqis. Many Americans, living in comfortable homes, safe from the bloodshed and war, do not appreciate the privileges with which they were born.”Why should I vote — what difference does it make?” is too often overheard around election time. There is a pervasive apathy — the belief that “my vote doesn’t really matter.”Midterm elections are not surrounded by much excitement or fanfare compared to the presidential election. But they are just as important. The recent election of U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., illustrates the importance — as one seat threatened the passage of the health care reform bill.Iraq is in the infant stages of developing a democratic government of questionable autonomy, but its individuals’ democratic spirit is remarkable. Whether this government strengthens or crumbles, we should take a moment to gauge our own appreciation for independence and freedom against such a standard.Consider the raw desperation and struggle for democratic rights in Iran under the current tyrannical regime. It is not unless these rights are forcibly withheld that the beneficiaries truly appreciate their blessings.Is the spirit of independence, freedom and democracy positively correlated to the number of bombs bursting in air and rockets’ red glare?  Lying down and allowing others to rule is much easier once tyranny is overthrown and the   masses become comfortable in their apathetic state.When comparing the political attitude of the American masses to what we see in the Iraqi and Iranian elections, we need to recognize the tendency for subsequent generations to assume, once the struggle subsides, that rights which were gained through great sacrifice are now guaranteed. In the historical scheme of things, these privileges have not existed that long in the U.S. Democratic rights and individual freedom are not guaranteed. Our collective memory is amazingly short-term.Nathan Shull is a 35-year-old finance junior from Seattle.  Follow him on Twitter @TDR_nshull.____Contact Nathan Shull at [email protected]